The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has revisited the Circular that guides APS agencies on the rules relating to the disclosure of the personal information of their employees.
Circular 2016/2: Use and disclosure of employee information, the APSC said was prepared following consultation with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
APSC said the guidance would help Agencies understand how regulation 9.2 of the Public Service Regulations 1999 affected their ability to disclose employee information within their Agencies and with other APS Agencies.
“Regulation 9.2 provides Agencies with significant flexibility in the use and disclosure of personal information, including very sensitive personal information, of their employees,” the APSC said.
“The personal information of employees should be used or disclosed carefully,” it said.
“Generally, personal information should not be used or disclosed for a reason other than that for which it was collected.”
The Commission said the use and disclosure of employees’ personal information required careful, balanced consideration in each case.
“On one hand, employees have a right to expect that their personal information is held in confidence and only used or disclosed for proper, defensible reasons,” it said.
“On the other, APS Agencies need to be able to use information they hold about their employees to make employment decisions that are lawful, sensible and based on the available evidence and disclose employee information to other APS agencies to support their decision-making.”
It said that in deciding whether to disclose personal information, Agencies should consider if the information was genuinely necessary or relevant, how much of the information was necessary or relevant, and if the disclosure was justifiable in the circumstances.
“Where it is clear to an Agency that a use or disclosure of information is authorised under regulation 9.2, Agencies may proceed to do so,” the APSC said.
“In cases where there is some uncertainty, it may be advisable for Agencies to seek consent from the employee to the use or disclosure of the relevant information.”
The APSC’s Circular 2016/2 can be accessed at this PS News link.
